(Continued from page 21)

• To us, it's a match made in heaven. A no-brainer. Mitchell should have a state park or recreation area in its immediate vicinity.
• That's the easy part. The tough part is, where?
• The possibility of a Mitchell-area park received its first serious discussion in 2011

when Gov. Dennis Daugaard held a Capital for a Day event in Mitchell. The idea of locating a park at Lake Mitchell was raised, but the talk quickly fizzled.
• We wanted to know if the proposal was dead, so a Daily Republic reporter recently called South Dakota Game, Fish and Parks Secretary Jeff Vonk. Surprisingly, Vonk said the idea is still alive, and a feasibility study could be ordered for the 2014 budget year.
• We have our doubts that a suitable spot for a state park will be found along Lake Mitchell, which is highly developed with housing along some of its shoreline.
• But there are some lake sites worth exploring, and we think a feasibility study should be undertaken. As we've noted in the past, there is no major city in South

Dakota that is farther away from a state park than Mitchell, and that's an injustice our local and state leaders should address. A feasibility study is a good place to start.
• Hopefully, though, state and local officials don't limit their scope to Lake Mitchell alone.
• Are there spots along Firesteel Creek, upstream from the lake, that might be good sites for a park or recreation area?
• How about the man-made lakes in the area? Maybe a prairie-focused site? How about building a park around a historic site, like the remains of Fort James, which have been excavated on the James River below Mitchell?
• Creativity and open-mindedness will be needed in the study of this idea for it to ever have a chance of materializing.
• With that proviso, we wholeheartedly encourage local and state officials to proceed.
•